Arsenal's Eduardo should be punished for his dive – but the furore over the incident is hypocritical and embarrassing

Eduardo's dive to win a penalty against Celtic on Wednesday night was an unedifying episode which only served to detract from another impressive Arsenal display. It was a clear dive and the striker should be retrospectively punished by Uefa - that is not in doubt. Celtic have every reason to feel aggrieved, and Eduardo embarrassed.

But the furore ever since has been slightly embarrassing. After the incident, the ITV commentary team just would not leave it alone, constantly returning to heap opprobrium on Eduardo. And that would be fine, if the same rule applied every time the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney or Joe Cole fell over an imaginary leg.

Diving is not a foreign disease, it is not the exclusive preserve of Eduardo, Cristiano Ronaldo or Didier Drogba. Those suddenly on the moral high ground should pour as much scorn on Gerrard when he collapses in a heap after minimal contact as they do on the likes of Eduardo. But they don't, simply because Gerrard/Rooney/Cole is 'one of us'. The hyprocisy would be laughable, if it wasn't so irritating.

Match of the Day is as guilty as anyone of highlighting the worst excesses of foreign imports, while brushing the bad behaviour of home-grown miscreants under the carpet, or simply not highlighting it at all. At best, we will get a bland comment such as, 'he's let himself down there' if a British player dives. However, should a foreign team-mate do the same, a public flogging is called for.

We can surely all agree that diving should be driven out of football, but how will the issue ever truly be addressed if there is one rule for some, and another rule for others. It is time for a level of consistency in our approach to divers, whether they originate from these shores or not.